Taiwan and the US are to hold their second economic partnership dialogue tomorrow to forge closer bilateral ties, the US Department of State said on Friday.
The department said in a statement that US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez would lead the US at the dialogue, known as the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue.
The second round of the dialogue would be conducted under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US, the department said.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“Our partnership is built on strong two-way trade and investment, people-to-people ties, and in common defense of freedom and shared democratic values,” the statement said.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that as the dialogue would be conducted virtually, no Taiwanese delegation would be visiting Washington.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) would lead the Taiwanese delegation, with other foreign ministry officials also attending.
The dialogue would focus on a broad range of topics, such as the global supply chain, 5G connectivity, cybersecurity, and science and technology, it said.
The first round of the dialogue was held in Washington in November last year, with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳政祺) leading a Taiwanese delegation to the US, while another team led by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) joined from Taipei for virtual discussions.
The US team was led by then-US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Keith Krach.
TECRO said on Friday that tomorrow’s dialogue would be meaningful for the two sides to boost their economic cooperation as they aim to bolster their partnership amid an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan hopes the two sides will work more closely in areas that would benefit them both and help them facilitate prosperity, security and a good future for people from both sides, it added.
The dialogue is the highest-level mechanism for Taiwan-US economic exchanges and cooperation.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the